The Chi cover, featuring three pictures of a topless princess, was unveiled Saturday in Italian newspapers and television, under the headline "Court Scandal: The Queen is Nude!".

Alfonso Signorini, the editor of Chi, has tweeted that "not even a direct call from the Queen" would stop him from publishing the pictures.

Signorini, 48, posted the message online after being posed the question by one of his followers on Twitter.

"I am convinced by this scoop that Chi will be publishing on Monday because that is what we are talking about," he said.

"These pictures are not offensive or in poor taste, they are not morbid and they do not damage the dignity of anyone. Instead the pictures that were published in Britain of Prince Harry were exactly that - if I didn't recognise the journalistic value of what I had, then if I did not publish them I would be better off in a market selling artichokes.

"These pictures were taken while the couple were on a terrace and they were taken from a public place, so there is no suggestion of an invasion of privacy," he added.